1. Field of the invention
This invention relates to refrigeration systems. More specifically it refers to a refrigeration apparatus having a heat exchanger with a pre-cooling element.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An important consideration in the conservation of energy in a refrigeration system is the delivery of the refrigerant to the evaporator coil at the lowest temperature possible. Such low temperature lowers the volumetric refrigerant circulation requirement in the system. U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,468 includes a description of a pre-cooler heat exchanger wherein vaporized refrigerant is used for cooling in the heat exchanger by being passed in a small conduit through a larger conduit containing liquid refrigerant. Evaporation of the refrigerant in the smallest conduit cools the liquid refrigerant in the larger conduit. U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,805 teaches a large chambered flash sub-cooler with a liguid refrigerant line running through the chamber. The latent heat of evaporation is used to cool the nearby liquid refrigerant. The actual evaporation takes place in the flash chamber surrounding the refrigerant feed line. In still another, U.S. Pat. No. 2,388,556, a liguid refrigerant is cooled by gaseous refrigerant flowing from an outlet end of the evaporator to the condenser. Although all of these Patents teach methods and systems increasing the efficiency of a refrigeration system, there is room for improvement to still further increase the efficiency of the refrigeration system and thereby conserve fuel. A system for increasing efficiency of those refrigeration systems presently in existence is continuously a sought after goal.